How an award win helped attract new customers

Andrew Earle’s Holidays in Hull was named a TTG Top 50 Travel Agency in 2016 and at last year’s ceremony it was crowned Yorkshire’s Top Agency.

Owner Andrew Earle, who has three agencies in Yorkshire and a new co-owned store, Holidays by Design in Cleethorpes, says, “the trophy is in pride of place in the office and the Top 50 Travel Agencies window sticker is on the door”.

He says winning the award has helped attract new customers.

“It helps to have an award for looking after people well. It shows we are not just recognised for our service in Hull but nationally as well. It’s a great selling point for staff when talking to customers,” he says.

Earle recounts how after returning from the awards ceremony at The Vox, Birmingham, trophy in hand, the Facebook response from customers was “brilliant”.

He adds that following the win, the agency saw a 10% increase in likes on its Facebook page within a week.

“We had lots of people offering congratulations and saying the award was well deserved – it was another reason for people to recommend us,” he says.

Yet it wasn’t just customers who recognised the agency’s success. Earle explains that there was a good response from the trade too. A number of operators that the agency didn’t work with contacted them after the award win. Ultimately, it resulted in some new relationships being forged.

“It was a good reality check for us and it encouraged reps to come to see us who had previously been a little out of the loop,” Earle says.

Highest volume
It’s been a busy year for Earle since the win. He set up the business almost 25 years ago and says that the first 19 years was “just survival, but now all our shops are operating at the highest volume of business since we started”.

Earle reveals that the threshold for year-on-year growth was met in the middle of October, meaning that all sales since then are above what the company has achieved previously. He adds that business is now very different from those early days.

“Over-50s want to do a lot more than sit on a beach in Benidorm,” he says, highlighting how the agency has specialised in tailor-made holidays and puts a strong focus on expertise.

“We use our Facebook page to drive traffic to our website and our website to encourage people to make an appointment to see the right person. People don’t want to come in and spend £10,000 with a stranger – it’s important that they see someone who knows their stuff.”

Earle says the agency now diarises appointments throughout the holiday planning process, even as far as paying the final balance and delivering tickets.

“I’m really pleased with how we have evolved,” he says.

Having been named one of the Top 50 Agencies in 2016, Earle says he was even more driven to be crowned Yorkshire’s Top Agency in 2017.

“I looked at what we weren’t doing the previous year and filled in the gaps. The template used [to assess agencies in the Top 50] is really good in terms of what a modern agency should be doing,” he says.

Looking ahead to this year’s Top 50 Travel Agencies, Earle has put his Brough store forward and is once again shortlisted in the Yorkshire regional category.

The store has just undergone a major refurbishment and Earle says it looks “fantastic”.

“We’ve added a VIP pod, a cruise department and a reception area,” he says. Highlighting the opportunity he has identified to expand the store’s business, Earle adds: “It’s the only agency in the village and we offer free parking.” He says he expects to draw in business from the wider local area.

Earle explains the draw of putting the Brough store forward for the Top 50 2018 is that it is “another reason for people to notice us”.

“It’s a story to tell,” he adds.

From Earle’s perspective, the three top benefits of being part of the Top 50 Travel Agencies are: customer perception; the pride afforded to staff and the endorsement of their ability; and the marketing platform that winning the award creates.

“I’m not the sort of person who usually goes in for awards but having won has really changed my mind. It’s been a thoroughly positive experience for us,” he concludes.